The Prayers of the Saints Are Answered

Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. Revelation 8:6

Revelation 8:1–13– The Book of Revelation: Worship. Obey. Endure.
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost  – August 21, 2022 (am)

It could be hard for us to feel motivated to continue our study in Rev. this morning, especially with a text that could be titled: The Beginning of God’s Final Wrath Poured Out on the Earth. But the circumstances of this week might actually put us precisely in the place to appreciate much of what we see here, and in a way that’s both comforting and encouraging. Let’s see how. We’ll walk through this chapter in three parts.

The Seventh Seal – 1-5

1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. This is a strange development, especially after the build-up. Remember, opening the sixth seal (6:12-17) brought us to the threshold of the great tribulation (cf. 7:14)—6:14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then we had an interlude (c7), seeing the worshiping multitude in heaven and sealing the saints on earth for their protection. Now the slitting of the seventh seal, and… silence (1). There’s much speculation about this dramatic half-hour (1). Some think it’s for preparation, hearing the prayers of the saints (4). Some think it’s for anticipation, fueling expectations. I think we should see it as the quintessential moment of silence, honoring the memory of the earth that once was good (Gen.1:31).

2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, these are new, with only extra-biblical support (Ladd 124); and seven trumpets were given to them. This second round of seven judgments has unique parallels to the first. And they appear to be the content of the seventh seal (Ladd 122) such that it includes them all, taking us through the great tribulation. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, this is the second time we’ve seen this pairing of heavenly incense and the prayers of the saints (cf. 5:8), 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. This gives us a sense of ceremonial significance and the high honor with which the prayers of the saints are received in the presence of God. 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. We’ll come back to this.

The First Four Trumpets – 6-12

This morning we see only the first four trumpets (6-12), but we’re also introduced to the final three (13). The first four are reminiscent of the Egyptian plagues at the exodus; the fifth and sixth are less clearly so. But then, in 15:3 the coming of Christ [reflects back] to the exodus (the redeemed sing the song of Moses and of the Lamb); it is [possible], therefore, that the final redemption, the second exodus, is heralded by similar plagues as at the first… (Beasley-Murray 1994 1437). These four target the earth, and the last three its inhabitants who don’t have the seal of God on their foreheads (9:4) (Ladd 126).

With the first… trumpet (7), hail and fire, mixed with blood… were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up. Hail and fire may be literal; they may be figurative; they may be both—“fire and blood” rain from heaven as part of the end-time judgment in an extra-biblical source (Beale 1999 473). But two things are clear here. (1) The earth itself is the target in this judgment, and in the next three. (2) A third of the earth is affected each time. That means the judgment is partial at this point, not complete. And the intent is to press the unrighteous to repent (9:20-21), but that just doesn’t happen.

8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea. It’s hard to know what this means. Some suggest it’s metaphorically describing the judgment of a wicked kingdom (Beale 1999 476. Jer.51:24 “I will repay Babylon… before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord. 25 “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain…, which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down the crags, and make you a burnt mountain.” But if that’s the meaning of v.8, it’s hard to make the connection with v.9, to understand it. John couldn’t really identify what was thrown into the sea—it was what I can only call a great mountain (Barclay 43)—but whatever it was, it accomplished God’s judgment on a third of the sea, in contrast to a third of the earth, the land (7), and a third of the sea became blood, recalling another Egyptian plague. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

So, judgment has fallen on land and sea. As the third angel blew his trumpet, a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and the springs of water—the waters on land. Clearly we know that a great star can’t [fall] to earth from heaven. But John saw something. Like the burning mountain thrown into the sea under the first trumpet (7), something is hurled at the earth from the heavens. Ladd calls this a great blazing meteor (127). And we can understand why John might identify that as a great star. But the fact remains that these are apocalyptic descriptions. They’re being seen in a vision—as we’ve said, more like an impressionistic painting than a photograph or video. Heavens falling to earth in any form is an image of divine judgment. And here, the target is primarily in view, not the action itself—the earth, the sea, and now the waters on land have been struck. And this one affected the people (11). Wormwood is an herb, a very bitter substance (Morris 123), with some positive uses. But it can be poisonous. Here it’s used here to pollute the water supply in expression of the judgment of God.

12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and… darkened the heavens by a third, day… and… night, again recalling Egypt (Exo.10:21), but this time only partial darkness. Physically, how this happens is a mystery. How is the light dimmed? There’s no explanation. But the darkening of the heavens is again an image of divine judgment (cf. Mat.27:45), and this time on the whole cosmos, not just a portion of the earth. The wrath of God is being poured out, and who can understand it fully?

The Announcement of the Three Woes – 13

But the worst is yet to come. 13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!” Those who dwell on the earth is a repeated expression in [Rev.] designating the pagan world in its hostility to God (3:10; 6:10; 11:10; 13:8; 17:2) (Ladd 128). So, the focus is now turning from the cosmos to its inhabitants. And a crying eagle is mercifully sent to announce it!

But that’s for another day. In light of this judgment finally coming—having heard the saints under the altar (6:9) 6:10 … [crying] out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”, knowing that their prayers are being held by the twenty-four elders in golden bowls full of incense—we’re prepared to appreciate all the more what we read here (3-5) that initiates this judgment (6ff.), the beginning of the end.

3 … another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne. Some say this is for the purification of the prayers (Beasley-Murray 1994 1437). Others say this shows that there is heavenly assistance given to our prayers (Morris 120). I like that—4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel, which is probably a way of saying [120] that heaven and earth are at one in this matter. Prayer is not the lonely venture it so often feels (Morris 119-120). 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and, here it is, threw it on the earth, and it has its effect: there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake, all the familiar indications of God acting in judgment to fulfill His purposes.

This is our comfort today. We’re not powerless against the forces of evil in this fallen world whether they flow from the intention efforts of the world or from Satan himself, or whether they’re just the seemingly random effects of life in a sin-shattered cosmos—religious persecution in places like Afghanistan, North Korea, and Somalia, or moral laxity and exaggerated personal freedom like we see in so many of our different cultural battles today, or even just ugly manifestations of seemingly random evil—attacks by wild beasts (fourth seal, 6:8), but also things like pandemics, or motorcycle accidents. We’re not powerless.

Leon Morris wrote (120): ‘What are the real master-powers behind the world and what are the deeper secrets of our destiny? Here is the astonishing answer: the prayer of the saints and the fire of God—God’s people calling out, and His answering. Morris adds (120): [This] means that more potent, more powerful than all the dark and mighty powers let loose in the world (let that sink in), more powerful than anything else, is the power of prayer set ablaze by the fire of God and cast upon the earth’ (Torrance).

Conclusion

This is our comfort today: our God is listening. He’s listening to every single one of our petitions and prayers. And He’s promised to answer (1Jo.5:13-15). Surely it won’t always result in our deliverance at the moment. It won’t prevent every illness, or accident. But it will prevent some of them. And it will neutralize others.

But the best news of all is that, in the end, it will address every single one of them. As we call out to Him in prayer, first, He will collect our prayers in golden bowls (5:8) in His presence. Then He’ll assist them in some way pictured by the incense of heaven (3-4), but also by the work of His Spirit (Rom.8:26-27). And He’ll eventually answer them all, bringing justice with regard not only to the intentional expressions of injustice we’ve endured, but also to the random acts of evil we’ve experienced or endured or observed!

Our God listens to His people! And He responds! Wherever you are today, whatever form of evil you’re facing, call out to Him! He’s with you in the midst of it. He’s aware of all that’s happening. And He’s listening to your prayers. In everything up to and including the outpouring of final judgment on this earth, our God has purposed to listen and respond to the prayers of His people.

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Resources

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NEXT WEEK’S SERMON: Revelation 9:1–12